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本文选自《经济学人》11月7日刊文章。月球是被人类研究最多的星球，现在有确凿证据表明，月球上有水，以冰的形式存在，而且储量比我们想象的要大，这为人类未来在月球建立基地带来新的希望。大部分水储存在月球南北两极的“冷阱”中，这些地区常年处于阴暗区，温度极低，水在月球储存的具体形式和可开发利用的途径有待于进一步研究，但这已经给了人类巨大的惊喜，有水意味着可以产生能源和食物，未来的月球基地有可能实现自给自足。 
选文精讲 There is now cast-iron evidence for water on the MoonAnd it may be more widespread than previously suspectedIF HUMAN BEINGS should ever wish to build bases on the Moon, those bases will need water. Residents will require it not only for their own sustenance but also as a raw material for rocket fuel to power adventures farther afield—Mars, for example. Given the cost of blasting things off the surface of Earth, however, such a base would be best served by finding its water locally. A pair of studies published on October 26th, in Nature Astronomy, will therefore raise the hopes of would-be lunar settlers.如果人类希望在月球上建立基地，那这些基地就需要水。居民们不仅需要它维持生计，还需要它作为火箭燃料的原材料，为更远的太空探险——比如火星，提供动力。然而，考虑到把东西从地球表面送到太空的成本，太空基地最好能在当地找到水源补给。因此，10月26日发表在《自然天文学》杂志上的两项研究为未来的月球定居者带来了希望。One, led by Paul Hayne of the University of Colorado, Boulder, shows that more of the Moon’s surface is in perpetual shadow than was previously believed. This matters because ice—the form in which any lunar water is likely to exist—would be stable and long-lived in such cold, shaded regions. Most of the lunar surface is bathed in harsh ionising radiation from the sun, so any water molecules present would swiftly be torn apart or disappear into space. But Dr Hayne’s work calculates that there are around 40,000 square kilometres of these ice-preserving “cold traps” on the Moon.由博尔德科罗拉多大学的保罗·海恩领导的一项研究表明，月球表面存在永久阴影的部分比之前认为的要多。这一点很重要，因为冰——月球上可能存在的水的形式——在这样寒冷、阴暗的地区是长期稳定存在的。月球表面的大部分区域都暴露在来自太阳的强烈电离辐射中，因此任何存在的水分子都会迅速地被分裂或消失在太空中。但是根据海恩博士的工作计算，月球上有大约40000平方公里保存有冰的“冷阱”。
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